Does using AI actually make a business worth more when it's time to sell? I get asked this every week. It can, but not in the way most founders expect.
Buyers aren't impressed by a list of random AI tools in your business. What gets their attention is proof.
A problem that was measured, a change that was tested and results that held up. That's what matters. How many hours has AI saved your team each week? How much new revenue has it brought in? Which costs has it cut?
My day job at The Magnolia Firm is helping founders sell their businesses. To see what real AI results look like, I've spent every Sunday since March running the AI Implementation Club in Austin. Founders and operators bring one real task, build a fix in two hours and show what works. What I learn in that room goes straight into how I prepare businesses for sale.
I'm genuinely excited that the club's results earned me a spot in the Poster Slam at Circus Austin. My poster is called "The Human in the Loop Is a Room", and the rest stays under wraps until then.
From 19 to 21 October, some of the sharpest people in experimentation, CRO and AI are coming together in East Austin. Huge thanks to Speero, Datadog, Ben Labay, Annika Thompson and Jonny Longden for bringing this to Austin.
The takeaway here is simple. AI tools don't add value on their own. Documented results do. If you can show buyers what AI cut from your owner dependence or added to your revenue, that's what changes an offer.
The AI Implementation Club is where I've been watching founders build that proof in real time. And now I get to share what I've learned at Circus Austin.
If you're coming, message me and come find my poster. Better still, let's meet at the pre-party on the 19th.
